Overview
HealthShareNerd evaluates all 13 major health sharing programs on 50+ objective data points across 6 core categories. Our composite rating system helps you compare programs apples-to-apples and find the best fit for your needs.
Our Rating Categories
1. Cost & Affordability (25%)
We evaluate the total cost of membership, including:
- Monthly share amount (contribution)
- Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) — similar to a deductible
- Per-incident vs. annual IUA structure
- Hidden fees (application fees, admin fees, consultation fees)
- Cost range across all plan tiers (individual, family, etc.)
Why it matters: Lower monthly costs mean nothing if your IUA is $10,000 per incident.
2. Coverage & Sharing Limits (25%)
What's actually covered when you need care:
- Maximum sharing limit per incident (typically $1M, but some vary)
- Annual vs. lifetime limits
- Maternity coverage (waiting periods, limits, pre-membership requirements)
- Mental health coverage (therapy, counseling, inpatient treatment)
- Preventive care availability (annual checkups, vaccinations, screenings)
- Prescription drug sharing (acute vs. maintenance medications)
- Dental and vision coverage
- Telemedicine access
Why it matters: Some programs exclude entire categories like mental health or maternity.
3. Provider Network & Access (20%)
Can you use your preferred doctors and hospitals?
- PPO network partnership (PHCS, MultiPlan, etc.)
- Network size (number of providers)
- Out-of-network flexibility
- Negotiated discount rates
- Geographic availability
Why it matters: PPO networks provide negotiated rates that significantly reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
4. Eligibility & Requirements (15%)
Who can join and what's required:
- Religious requirements (statement of faith, church attendance, lifestyle pledges)
- Pre-existing condition waiting periods (6-36 months typical)
- Age restrictions
- Geographic limitations
- Health questionnaires and medical history requirements
Why it matters: Some programs require regular church attendance; others have no religious requirements at all.
5. Operational Transparency (10%)
How trustworthy and transparent is the program?
- Years in operation
- Total members
- Financial reporting (published data on sharing fulfillment rates)
- Customer service reputation
- Claims processing speed
- Member satisfaction ratings (independent reviews, BBB ratings)
- Legal structure (nonprofit ministry vs. for-profit entity)
Why it matters: Health sharing is unregulated. Operational history and member reviews indicate reliability.
6. Additional Features (5%)
Extra perks that improve the member experience:
- Telemedicine included
- Health coaching or wellness programs
- Prescription discount programs
- Mobile app functionality
- Online member portal
How We Calculate Composite Scores
Each program receives a score from 1.0 to 5.0 based on the weighted average of the 6 categories above. Here's how we score:
- 5.0 — Excellent: Top-tier performance in this category. Best-in-class cost, coverage, or network access.
- 4.0 — Good: Strong performance with minor trade-offs.
- 3.0 — Average: Meets basic expectations but nothing exceptional.
- 2.0 — Below Average: Significant limitations or concerns in this category.
- 1.0 — Poor: Major red flags or deal-breakers.
Final composite rating = weighted average of all 6 category scores. This is the star rating you see on review pages and comparison tables.
How We Source Our Data
We verify every data point from multiple sources:
- Official program websites — pricing pages, member guides, FAQ sections
- Member guidebooks and enrollment documents — we review full sharing guidelines
- Direct outreach to programs — when data is unclear, we contact programs directly for clarification
- Member reviews — we aggregate reviews from BBB, Trustpilot, Reddit, and Facebook groups
- Independent research — we cross-check claims against regulatory filings, news articles, and legal records
How Often We Update Data
Health sharing programs change their pricing, coverage, and policies frequently. We update our data on a rolling basis:
- Monthly reviews: We check all 13 programs for pricing changes, new features, or policy updates.
- Quarterly deep dives: We re-verify all 50+ data points and update category scores.
- Real-time alerts: When programs announce major changes, we update immediately.
Every review page shows a "Last verified: [date]" timestamp so you know how current the data is.
Our Affiliate Relationships
HealthShareNerd earns affiliate commissions when you sign up for a program through our links. However:
- We feature all 12 major programs regardless of affiliate status
- Programs cannot pay to improve their rankings or reviews
- Our composite scores are based on objective data, not commission rates
- We disclose affiliate relationships on every page where affiliate links appear
Bottom line: Our goal is to help you make an informed decision, not to push you toward the highest-paying program.
What We Don't Do
To maintain objectivity and accuracy:
- We don't accept paid reviews or sponsored content from health sharing programs
- We don't rank programs based on commission rates
- We don't make medical or legal recommendations — we present data and let you decide
- We don't guarantee any program will share your bills — health sharing is not insurance and has no legal guarantees
Questions About Our Methodology?
If you have questions about how we score programs, spot an error in our data, or want to suggest improvements to our methodology, we'd love to hear from you.
Email: hello@healthsharenerd.com
See Our Methodology in Action
Use our comparison tool to see how we apply these criteria to each program.
Compare Programs →